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The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a European mission for the detection of gravitational waves in space set to be launched in 2034. The mission will see the deployment of 3 spacecraft in heliocentric orbit keeping a triangular formation with side length of 2.5 million km. Laser beams are exchanged between the spacecraft by means of...

This thesis investigates the potential of a large pumping station in IJmuiden, the Nether-lands, for participating in Demand Response. Due to climate change, renewable energy is onthe rise. The intermittency of energy, together with its unpredictable supply, are a big hurdlefor the energy transition. Two methods are promising solutions to this...

Pioneering Spirit, Allseas's largest pipelay vessel, will be outfitted with a novel Jacket Lift System (JLS). A jacket refers to the steel frame which supports the topside of a fixed offshore platform. The Pioneering Spirit was already capable of lifting the topsides of offshore platforms, like the former oil platform Brent Delta, but would have...

Kitepower is a start up that generates energy using kites. The Kitepower system consists of airborne components, and a ground station where a drum is connected to a generator/electrical motor. For generating energy a so called pumping cycle is performed. In a pumping cycle energy is generated during the traction phase when the kite pulls the...

In the REstore Voiding Urinary rEtention (REValUE) project, a high frequency stimulator is designed that should be able to determine the optimal parameters to block the urethral sphincter. In this report the design of the control, interface, current source and electrode switching circuit of the device is explained – the other parts are explained...

Ship to shore (STS) cranes handle millions of containers every day. One of the latest products from Stinis is the Split-Headblock. This device allows its user to work in tandem operation in which up to two 20ft or four 40ft containers can be lifted at once. In order to further increase the performance, it is important that it can be accurately...

Spaceplanes represent a new promising concept for space flight. A spaceplane is a reusable, safe, efficient and economical space transportation system that can generate lift during its atmospheric flight, analogously to an aircraft, and it is able to travel in space as a spacecraft. What makes spaceplanes so attractive is the possibility of...

Raising environmental concerns have stimulated the development of renewable energy, including energy from the oceans, which contain a huge potential. In this thesis, particular emphasis is given to wave energy, which can deliver up to 2 TW on a global scale. The aim of this thesis is to optimize the control system of the Symphony Wave Power...

This Thesis report will discuss the development of embedded control systems for process control (in this case for the calibration of a gas analyser). The main research question being: Which control algorithm will be able to achieve the most optimal calibration procedure? A calibration bench which will be used to create a specific condition (gas...

Current robots consume a lot of energy. The work required for a task is generally just a tiny fraction of the total energy consumed. Most energy wastefully dissipated. Design of the 2 degree of freedom (DoF) Plugless Robot Arm shows that clever design can reduce these energy losses to a tiny remaining fraction. The Plugless Arm is designed to...

The amount of research and development in smart materials is increasing every year. These smart materials offer a solution to integrated and distributed actuation and sensing. Pressure sensors, acoustic transducers, deformable mirrors, micro-robotics and stiffness control of flapping wings are some applicationswhere these smart materials show...

The increase of data collection and analytics over the past few years the control over personal data has become an important issue. Control over data is the execution of privacy and the ability to protect the individual identity. Solutions to give consumers more control have failed in the past due to security and privacy concerns. On top of that...

L1 adaptive control is a relatively new technique that attempts to tackle the robustness shortcoming of the MRAC controller by applying a low pass filter to the control input. It can be used as an augmentation loop using baseline controllers such as backstepping or PID. This controller has been implemented as an augmentation loop with both these...

The next generation of ground-based telescopes have a segmented primary mirror consisting of up to 800 segments which are mounted on a support truss. These segments are actively controlled to correct for external disturbances of which wind loading is the primary source. As mirror size and number of segments grows ever larger, dynamic coupling...

A new type of polymeric artificial muscle was recently discovered. This muscle is based on twisted and coiled polymer fiber and is actuated thermally. It has interesting properties, such as low costs and high work densities. Based on fabrication methods, two variations can be considered. The autocoiled variation has a larger load capacity and...

Wind turbines are often grouped together for financial reasons, but due to wake development this usually results in decreased turbine lifetimes and power capture, and thereby an increased levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Wind farm control aims to minimize this cost by operating turbines at their optimal control settings. Most state-of-the-art...

The problem of testing the performance of an attitude control system presents new challenges and opportunities when conducted on a CubeSat scale. This is the result of drastic reduction in physical properties (size, mass, torques) as well as project resources (funds, manpower, time) when compared to traditional satellite programs. This thesis...

When tasks need to be performed in remote, potentially inaccessible and/or hostile environments for humans, it is often more convenient to send a robot. Such environments are often only partially known, and therefore not suitable for fully autonomous robots to operate in. In these situations teleoperation can be used, which combines the problem...

In the oil and gas industry, safety and efficiency are taken into high regard when obtaining new natural resources. An increasing demand for automation arises to meet with the new safety and efficiency standards. During drilling operations, drilling fluid maintenance has an important role in guaranteeing safety on the rig. Controlling the...